Seán Sherlock
Question:258. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update under Housing for All to reform the tenant purchase scheme. [7120/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 February 2023
Questions (258)
Written answers
The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the scheme.
The scheme was reviewed during 2021 in line with the Programme for Government and Housing for All. The Government approved a number of amendments as a result of this review and these amendments came into effect on 1 February 2022.
The amendments include a reduction in the minimum reckonable annual income requirement from €15,000 to €12,500. This means older tenants, whose only income might be the contributory or non-contributory State pension, can qualify to buy their homes if they have the financial means to do so. The time an applicant is required to be in receipt of social housing supports in order to be able to apply under the scheme has also been revised. This has been increased from one to ten years.
Further changes to the scheme are currently being examined as part of the work on the broader social housing reform agenda.